Story Stones

We're working on story writing around here and need a little inspiration.  I saw these at Target and decided that was a rockin' idea.  But I'm cheap, err...frugal, and decided I wasn't paying $7+ dollars for little blocks with pictures on them to force my kids to use their imagination.  I stood in the isle and tried to muster up some great alternative.  Didn't work.  So I made my way to the clearance end caps as I pondered and bought some crap I didn't know I needed.
Fast forward to yesterday while we were watching the Packers get their arses handed to them at my aunt and uncle's house.  I notice my aunt has a dish full of these pretty, smooth river rocks and I think DING! we'll paint pictures on rocks!  I ask my uber cool, crafy, collector of things aunt where she found all the rocks.  "Oh, I've picked them up around over the years...west river mostly."  Awesome, I totally have the time and/or patience to mosey around waiting to run across a bunch of rocks.  Then she gives me the fantastic idea to go to Dollar Tree where they have large, clear marble stone-ish shaped things that we could maybe use.  Dollar Tree?!  You're speaking my price range!
Dollar bag of stone things, magazine cut outs, and some mod podge later and we have Story Stones!